The quality of life in Dubai is excellent and the range of accommodation superb. Many apartments and villas offer a wide range of facilities including air-conditioning, swimming pools, gyms, saunas, Jacuzzis, squash and tennis courts and most apartment complexes have 24-hour security.

Accommodation varies considerably from 45-storey state-of-the art living with outstanding views of Dubai and the Arabian Gulf to a more traditional Arabian-style villa with wind towers. A large majority of ex-pats rent accommodation although there are now options to buy property at one of the many new developments including the impressive Palms project, Dubai Marina or the Arabian Ranches.

Accommodation
The majority of the ex-pat population lives in new Apartments and Villas ranging from £400-£4000/month www.bhomes.com. £500/month would get you a new, centrally located one-bedroom apartment including appliances, swimming pool, gym and sauna. Electricity and Water bills for a one-bedroom apartment would be around £40/month. A security deposit of around £200 is required and there are no maintenance charges.

Transport
Running a car is very affordable. Not only is Dubai one of the cheapest places in the world to buy a new car, but also petrol is very inexpensive for obvious reasons. Many people opt for cars they couldn’t usually afford to run in other countries like 4x4’s and sports cars.

Public transport is fantastic; there are numerous taxi companies who operate impressive fleets of brand new taxis at very affordable prices. In addition to this there is a very good bus network and a rail network planned for the next couple of years .

Electricity
Electricity supply is 220/240 volts, 3-pin UK sockets.

Banks
All international banks have a presence in Dubai including HSBC, Lloyds, Barclays, Abbey National.

Food
Spinney’s is very much like any large UK supermarket offering a wide range of food to cater for everyone. Food is around the same price as in the UK although UK brands can be slightly more expensive.

Telephones/TV
Etisalat the country’s only telecom operator offers a wide range of services from landlines to 2MB high-speed Internet and cable TV. There are a number of TV operators offering Satellite TV packages including BBC Prime and UKTV as well as numerous sports and movie channels. :: working >